{"id":2795,"date":"2020-09-23T01:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T01:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/2020\/09\/23\/the-scourge-of-suicide\/"},"modified":"2023-06-02T07:04:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T05:04:25","slug":"the-scourge-of-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/the-scourge-of-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scourge of Suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother\u2019s womb.<\/i>\n I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. <\/i>-Psalm 139\n


\n Suicides have nearly doubled in the United States among young people in recent years. Other age groups are not immune to this scourge. During the next few weeks, we will discuss how the church can help reverse this trend. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in America and around the world. It afflicts the young and old. I\u2019ve had to deal with this for 30 years as a counselor \u2013 dear friends and students who have completed suicide. My role as a counselor is usually twofold: I teach about suicide prevention, and I counsel those closest to individuals who have taken their lives, and help them cope with the emotional disarray afterwards. <\/p>\n

\n I like this analogy of my role in counseling: I can either be an ambulance at the bottom of a cliff (counseling those who suffer a loss to suicide) or a guardrail at the top (suicide prevention). In the church, we can be guardrails. Here are a few guardrails we’ll discuss in the coming weeks: <\/p>\n

\n \n 1) <\/span>\n <\/span>\n Mental health awareness: <\/span>\n \n many people who complete suicide struggle with a mental health diagnosis. These complex challenges need attention, care, and compassion. Who do you know with a mental health diagnosis? Take time to learn the nuances of their specific challenge. Ask them questions and see how you can help them cope with their challenge. <\/span>\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\n 2) <\/span>\n\n Understand the shame associated with depression and anxiety: <\/span>\n \n The last 10 years has seen encouraging progress in this area. Disciples with a mental health diagnosis no longer live in the shadows of their challenge. We have learned compassion as a fellowship, but there is still room to grow. Think compassion instead of judgement. <\/span>\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\n 3) <\/span>\n\n Understand the various features of suicide: <\/span>\n \n There is a wealth of information on this subject. A cursory look on google will provide much needed information. Check out this <\/span>\n <\/span>\n article<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n 4) <\/span>\n \n Learn to ask questions: <\/span>\n \n It is a myth that if we bring up the subject of suicide, we’ll be encouraging suicidal behavior. It is just the opposite. Learning to ask the right questions can go a long way in preventing suicide. Generally people want to talk about suicide and find ways to prevent it, but they need a loving, caring, and wise friend to start the conversation. <\/span>\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n \n The church setting is the the perfect place for recovery. Learn how to set up a <\/span>\n <\/span>\n Disciples In Motion<\/a>\n weekend visit with Tim. It includes many different opportunities for mental health trainings in the church setting. Click <\/span>\n <\/span>\n here<\/a>\n \n for more information. <\/span>\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suicides have nearly doubled in the United States among young people in recent years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[71],"tags":[58],"post_folder":[151],"class_list":["post-2795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mental-health"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/scourge.jpg?fit=800%2C487&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"dtadmin","author_link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/author\/dtadmin\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phsvEw-J5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2775,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/the-scourge-of-suicide-part-three\/","url_meta":{"origin":2795,"position":0},"title":"The Scourge of Suicide – Part Three","author":"dtadmin","date":"October 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Resources are available for suicide prevention.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/hands.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/hands.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/hands.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/hands.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2792,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/the-scourge-of-suicide-part-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":2795,"position":1},"title":"The Scourge of Suicide – Part Two","author":"dtadmin","date":"October 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Acknowledge, care, and get treatment from a professional when others when they share with us the desire to harm themselves.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/togetherness.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/togetherness.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/togetherness.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/togetherness.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3857,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/campus-and-youth-ministry-positions-available-in-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":2795,"position":2},"title":"Austin Church Celebrates Growth; Hiring for Campus and Youth Ministries","author":"dtadmin","date":"December 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"As the 2010s draw to a close, the Austin Church is celebrating all that God has done this decade. 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